What Can I Put In My Hookah Base? - The Best Hookah Base Mixes To Turn Your Session Up To 11

A very common question we receive is "What can I add to my hookah base besides water?" We've created this handy guide to help you choose the best hookah base additives which will increase the flavor and fun of your next hookah session.

Fruit Juice

This is probably your best bet for imparting extra flavor to your smoke. Orange juice, cranberry juice, pomegranate juice, and lemonade are all popular choices which will add a little something extra to your hookah smoke.

Ice

This won't add any extra flavor but it will give you really cold and smooth smoke. Ice is probably the most common hookah base addition. We recommend not cleaning your hookah base immediately after use with ice as the temperature change caused by the warm water meeting the cold glass could cause your base to break.

Wine

Red or white wine in your hookah base adds a nice additional flavor level to your hookah smoke. You will just get a general sort of wine flavor with this method so we don't recommend using a real expensive bottle. Go cheap when adding wine to your hookah base.

Frozen Fruit

Adding frozen fruits to your base such as blueberries, strawberries, or raspberries will add a colorful touch to your hookah session. In addition to looking cool it will also provide the same effect as ice and fruit juice, increasing flavor and cooling your hookah smoke.

Extracts

Adding a few drops of food grade food extracts (lemon, vanilla, almond, etc) will add a nice flavor punch to your smoke and will turn your base water a cool color. If you aren't interested in the added flavor, but just want the color, you can try food dye.

Before we end this post on what you should add to your hookah base, we need to address some things that you should NOT add.

Carbonated Beverages

The carbonation in soda and energy drinks is caused by dissolving carbon dioxide in a liquid. The bubbles in your soda are caused by the release of this carbon dioxide. If you add carbonated beverages to your base you will essentially be taking deep lungfuls of carbon dioxide which is not such a great idea.

Dairy

Adding milk or cream to your base is a very divisive issue. Some traditional smokers swear by adding a few tablespoons of heavy cream to your water to give a creamier taste. We can sort of get on board with this small of an amount, but we definitely do not recommend adding anything more than that to your base and please, please, please remember to clean your entire hookah rig very thoroughly after each session. You should avoid using large amounts of dairy as the giant bubbles will get into your hose and purge valves, the hose itself, and they will creep up the downstem of your hookah. You do not want dairy getting into all of these crevices as it will spoil and the chance of mold, bacteria, and possible infections are high. Best to play it safe and avoid dairy additives all together in our opinion.

Alright, now you are armed with all of the knowledge necessary to take your hookah session to the next level. Get creative with it, and let us know your favorite base additions that are not listed here by leaving a comment here or on our Facebook page.